1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a binding device that binds papers ejected from a digital output device such as a printer and a copier by finishing them, and more particularly to a paper processing unit for the binding device.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
An example of a conventional binding device is disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 8-301504. The conventional binding device will be described with reference to FIG. 1.
The conventional binding device 1 includes a paper processing unit 5, a paper carriage 2, a tape feeder 6, a tape heating unit 7, and a receiving stacker 8. The paper processing unit 5 is provided with a paper aligning unit 3 and a binding unit 4. The tape heating unit 7 serves as a paper finishing unit.
The paper carriage 2 includes an inlet 9a and an outlet 9b. A plurality of rollers 10 are provided between the inlet 9a and the outlet 9b. A flapper 13 is provided at the inlet 9a so that papers are flapped to a paper carriage path 14 when binding papers. The papers flapped to the paper carriage path 14 by the flapper 13 are conveyed to the paper aligning unit 3.
The paper aligning unit 3 includes a tray 16 receiving papers, an aligning paddle 18 aligning conveyed papers, a rotational stopper 19 temporarily putting the papers in a standby state after aligning them, and a paper clamp 15 gripping the papers aligned in the stop finger 19 and moving them to the tape heating unit 7.
The rotational stopper 19 and the paper clamp 15 are designed to grip the papers stacked on the tray 16 to move them to the tape heating unit 7. Once the papers are moved to the tape heating unit 7, the papers are subject to the binding process so that a tape fed from the tape feeder 6 is adhered to the rear end and side of the papers. The bound papers are then stacked on the receiving stacker 8 by the binding carriage 4.